Africans React to Trump Victory
Feelings about Donald Trump’s U.S. election win are mixed in Africa. In Kenya, where President Barack Obama has familial roots, many were hoping Hillary Clinton could carry on his legacy, but were prepared for disappointment. “Personally, I think it [Trump’s win] was expected because I don’t think America was ready for a female president just yet,” said Jamila Wafula, a student at Jomo Kenyatta University near Nairobi. “We were really hoping that Clinton would win, but it was expected for Trump to win.” Sara Asafu-Adjaye, a Ghanaian social activist, says she would have loved to have seen the first female U.S. president. “Not only is it that she is a woman. She’s a competent woman,” said Asafu-Adjaye. “And the fact that millions, over 48 percent of Americans believe that she’s not the better person for the job, it scares me.” VOA
Mixed Reactions in Africa to Trump Victory
Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli was one of the first African leaders to congratulate Donald Trump on his election victory. “Tanzanians and I assure you of continued friendship and cooperation,” he wrote on his Twitter account. Burundi’s controversial leader Pierre Nkurunziza – the subject of intense US and international criticism for his decision to stay in power beyond a constitutional two-term limit- followed suit. “Your victory is the victory of all Americans,” he wrote on Twitter. Social media platforms were abuzz with reactions just moments after the poll results were out. DW’s Kiswahili Facebook page showed more than 500 comments just 15 minutes after the announcement. Deutsche Welle
What Trump Means for Africa
Donald Trump is the next president of the United States of America. As crazy as it might seem, this is no time for schadenfreude: his election is bad news – very bad news – for Africa too. Donald J. Trump will be the next president of the world’s most powerful country, and no corner of the globe will be immune from the consequences. Here’s what African can expect. Daily Maverick
African Leaders Congratulate Donald Trump
Several African leaders on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump following his victory in the just ended US elections. In a closely contested election, Trump was declared victorious, after capturing Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 threshold. Voters eager to shake up the nation’s political establishment picked the celebrity businessman to become the nation’s 45th president. He upset Democrats presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton, who would have become the first woman to serve in the Oval Office. Most of the African leaders said they were looking forward to working with the incoming Trump. News 24
US Election 2016 Result: Historic Win for Somali-American Woman
Ilhan Omar, 34, has made history by becoming the first Somali legislator in the United States. A former refugee, the Somali-born activist has been elected to serve as an MP in the US state of Minnesota. The Muslim Somali-American woman becomes the highest-ranking Somali elected to office in the US. Her election comes just days after US President-elect Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants in Minnesota of “spreading their extremist views”. Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community – about 50,000 according to the US census. BBC
Kenyan Soldiers Arrive Home from South Sudan
Kenya’s withdrawal from the South Sudan peacekeeping mission has started, with 100 Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers arriving in the country from Juba. The soldiers arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday aboard an Ocean Airlines plane and 100 more were expected later Wednesday. KDF spokesman Lt-Col Paul Njuguna said the troops were based in Wau. The East African
Ansar Dine Claims Attack on Southern Mali Town
Islamist militant group Ansar Dine has claimed responsibility for an attack on a town in southern Mali in which 21 prisoners were freed from jail, according to a social media posting monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group. Six attackers tried to release two prisoners from jail in the town of Banamba on Sunday, Mali’s Justice Minister Mamadou Ismael Konate said, but the prisoners had already been moved to another town. Ansar Dine said in its statement that it had killed one soldier and captured another in the attack and that it had taken three vehicles and some other gear. Reuters
Tunisia Says IS-linked Extremist Group Leader Killed
A leader of an extremist group that shot dead a soldier at his home has been hunted down and killed in a central region of Tunisia, the defence ministry said on Wednesday. “After giving chase to an armed group on the night of Nov. 8 in the Mount Salloum area, military units gunned down the terrorist Talal Saidi,” a leader of the Jund al-Khilafa group, on Mount Mghilla, it said. Islamic State [IS] claimed responsibility for the killing of the soldier at his home in the central region that is a major hideout for Sunni Muslim militants. The ministry said Saidi, from the restive region of Sidi Bouzid, was the leader of the group which killed the soldier on Nov. 5. The New Arab
ICC: Libya Will be Top Priority in 2017 Including Extremists
The International Criminal Court is committed to making Libya a priority next year and expanding investigations, potentially including alleged serious crimes by the extremist Islamic State group and its affiliates, the prosecutor said Wednesday. Fatou Bensouda told the U.N. Security Council that her commitment is the result of a number of factors: widespread violence, lawlessness and impunity in many areas, a desire to provide justice for victims, and alleviating the suffering of civilians “who continue to endure the tragic consequences of the conflict in Libya.” She said her office intends to apply for new arrest warrants “under seal as soon as practicable and hopes to have new arrest warrants served in the near future.” AP on The Washington Post
UN: Somali Pirates Now Focus on Smaller Vessels
It has been almost three years since Somali pirates successfully hijacked a large commercial vessel but they retain the capacity and intent to resume the attacks and have lately shifted to targeting smaller foreign fishing boats, according to U.N. report. The report, seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday, says that as of August 2016 there were no seafarers from large commercial vessels held by Somali pirates but 39 hostages from foreign fishing boats remained in captivity. The report also found that while reported piracy incidents increased slightly to 15 in the roughly year long period that ended in October 2016, up from 12 in the previous period, the numbers were sharply lower than the 237 pirate attacks reported when piracy was at its peak in 2011. AP on ABC News
Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2316 (2016), Renewing Authorization for International Naval Forces to Combat Piracy off Somali Coast
The Security Council today renewed for another year its authorization for international naval forces to join in fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, stressing that while the threat of such crime had declined, it still remained a matter of grave concern. Unanimously adopting resolution 2316 (2016) and again affirming the primary responsibility of Somali authorities in the effort, the Security Council renewed the call upon States and regional organizations that were able to do so to cooperate with those authorities and each other in deploying naval vessels and military aircraft, by providing logistical support, and by seizing and disposing of boats, arms and related equipment reasonably suspected to be used in piracy and armed robbery in the area. ReliefWeb
10 People Killed in Clashes in South Darfur
Ten people were killed and fifteen others injured on Wednesday in a retaliatory attack by armed cattle herders in Goghana area at the locality of Graida, 86 km. south of Nyala, South Darfur state capital. On Tuesday, five people were killed and several others wounded in violent attacks between cattle herders and farmers in Goghana area prompting Wednesday’s retaliatory attack. Member of South Darfur’s legislative council from Graida constituency Omer Mohamed Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune that armed herders attacked the villages of Dahab Sharo, Myola, Kafla and Roina at Goghana administrative unit in Graida locality. Sudan Tribune
US Urges Caution in Sudan
The United States on Tuesday asked its nationals in Sudan to take caution against possible protests following recent government decisions to increase prices of fuel and electricity. A release by the US Embassy in Khartoum Tuesday asked the US nationals “to review personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates.” “The government of Sudan recently released an announcement regarding the lifting of state subsidies on certain consumer commodities. In addition, the government has reportedly taken measures to prevent or disrupt activities to protest the measures,” it said. IOL News
Nigerian Militant Group Says it Attacked Forcados Crude Pipeline
Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) said on Wednesday it was behind an attack on Shell’s Forcados crude pipeline a day earlier. “Yes, NDA blew up the Forcados export pipeline,” a spokesman for the group said by email when asked whether a statement announcing the attack late posted on a previously unknown Twitter account was accurate. Reuters
Niger Delta Militant Group Surrenders Arms
A group in the Niger Delta region, Bakassi Strike Force, BSF, has surrendered some arms to show its desire for peace if the Federal Government addresses its concerns. Olaolu Daudu, the military spokesperson in the Niger Delta, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Wednesday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Mr. Daudu, a lieutenant colonel, said that the terms of the final surrender were being worked out by the Cross River Command of the State Security Services and the Cross River government. He said that the militant group had turned in one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and an AK 47 rifle as a show of good faith towards the proposed peace deal. Premium Times
As Nigerian Sex Trafficking Rises, Italy Tracks Crime Kingpins
When Italian prosecutor Lina Trovato first came across a sex trafficking suspect called “Mummy”, she sensed she was onto something especially sinister. The code name had appeared several times in wiretapped conversations between Nigerian gang members in Italy and their apparently female boss back in the West African state. “If one of the (trafficked sex worker) girls went astray, the agents in Italy always informed ‘Mummy’ – otherwise known as the Queen Bee of Nigerian trafficking – so she could keep them in line,” Trovato told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Reuters
Nigeria Population at 182 Million, With Widening Youth Bulge
Nigeria’s population reached 182 million this year with more than half its people under 30 years of age, putting a severe strain on a nation suffering from a slowing economy and declining revenue to provide enough schools and health facilities. The latest estimate is based on the population of 140 million recorded in the last census a decade ago, using an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent weighed against other variables such as rising life expectancy and a declining infant mortality rate, Ghaji Bello, director general of the National Population Commission, said in an interview Monday in the capital, Abuja. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is witnessing a growing youth bulge, with those under 14 years accounting for more than 40 percent of its citizens, he said. This is happening at a time when the International Monetary Fund has forecast the West African nation’s gross domestic product will shrink 1.7 percent this year, the first full-year contraction in more than two decades. Bloomberg
South Africa’s Jacob Zuma Faces New No Confidence Vote
South Africa’s parliament is to debate a vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma amid growing calls for him to resign. An anti-corruption probe last week raised allegations of misconduct against Mr Zuma. But the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has said the motion “has no chance of succeeding”. This is the third time in less a year the president is facing a no confidence vote. BBC
Ghana OKs 7 Candidates for Presidential Election
Ghana’s electoral commission has qualified seven presidential candidates for the national election on December 7. The successful candidates — six representing political parties and one independent — took part in a drawing late Wednesday in the capital, Accra, to determine their positions on the ballot. They will be listed by party affiliation in this order on voters’ ballots: Convention People’s Party (CPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), Progressive People’s Party (PPP), New Patriotic Party (NPP), People’s National Convention (PNC) and independent (non-party) candidate Jacob Osei Yeboah. VOA
Kenya Teachers Seek to Follow Uganda and Ban UK-backed Private Schools
Kenyan teachers want the government to ban a chain of low-cost private primary and nursery schools, backed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Britain’s aid budget, after it faced criticism from a court in neighboring Uganda for hiring unlicensed teachers. Uganda’s high court on Friday ordered Bridge International Academies (BIA) to close 63 schools in the country for operating without a license, having poor sanitation and for using unregistered and unlicensed teachers, the judgment said. The company, founded by an American couple, started working in Uganda in 2015 after opening 405 schools in Kenya since 2009 that use an ‘Academy in a box’ model in which teachers read lessons from a tablet computer. Reuters